Centrifugal separator.



PA'I'BNTED APR. 21, 1903.

0. J. PIHL. GENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 28, 1901. RENEWED OUT. 16, 1902.

2 sums-513M 1.

H0 MODEL.

Gaor/ f afiz .ruE-r cwms PEYERS co. PHoYo-utnc, wAm

PATENTED APR. 21, 1903'.

G. J. PIHL.

GENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 28, 1901. RENEWED OUT. 15, 1902.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 2- I N0 MODEL.

S M-Dam fox 5 11 .6702

Tim/0 T UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

CARL J. PIHL, OF CAMBRIDGEPORT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATESDAIRY MANUFACTURING AND MACHINE COMPANY, A CORPO- RATION OF MAINE.

CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 725,868, dated April21, 1903.

Application filed August 28, 1901. Renewed October 15, 1902. Serial No.127,390. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL J. PIHL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cambridgeport, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in CentrifugalSeparators, vof which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of centrifugal machines known asliquid-separa: IO tors, and which machines are designed for thereception of a compound liquid, such as whole or fresh milk, and whichliquid is to be separated into constituent parts, as cream andskim-milk, of difierent specific gravities; I5 and my invention consistsof the parts and the constructions and combinations of parts which Ishall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and inwhich similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts,Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a centrifugalseparator embodying my invention, the line of section being indicated ason the line 1 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on theline 2 2 of Fig. 1. plate d, showing the cream -'outlets whichcommunicate with the vertical passages or 0 raceways g in Fig. 2. Fig. 4is a plan view of the bottom plate cl; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectionof another form of separator to be hereinafter described. Fig. 6 is across-section of Fig. 5 on the line 5 5. Fig. 7 is a view 3 5 of thebottom plate of the separator shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a verticalsection, and Fig.

9 is a cross-section, of another modified'form of separator. Fig. 10 isa detail to be re.- ferred to.

0 In the said drawings, Figs. 1 to4, the bowl A is of any well-known orappropriate form and is suitably fixed to a-shaft B, so as to be rotatedat a high speed in the manner usual with this class of machine. The bowlhas 5 fixed to it the usual cover C, which has the cream-outlet a in thecontracted neck and has also secured to it the skim-milk tubes, of

which there may be any desired number and two of which are shown at b aslying along the inner inclined side of the cover and with Fig. 3 is aplan view of the capthe lower end near the junction of the peripheralvertical wall of the bowl with the inner wall of the cover, said tubeshaving their opposite or outlet ends piercing the neck of the cover andadapted to discharge the blue or skim milk outside of the cover in thewellknown manner. The interior of the bowl is provided with suitableannular vertical walls which lie substantially close to the inner wallof the bowl, thefirst-named walls being connected at the top and bottomby suitable disks or plates, so as to form substantially an innerdrum,which may be hollow and air-tight and may be internally braced byhorizontal diaphragms or partitions c, or, if desired, the drum may bein the form of a solid with channels or raceways formed in its peripheryto accommodate the progressive movements of the cream and-skim-milktoward their respect-ive outlets. The parts of the drum may also bebraced by flanges, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, to givestability. In the top of the neck is a feed-inlet, into which the fullor whole milk is received, said inlet communicating with a verticalmilkpassage D, which extends through the vertical center of the machineand has its lower end terminating just above the bottom of the bowl A.The bottom plate (1 of the inner structure lies about in the horizontalplane of the lower end of the tube or passage D, and the under side ofthe plate is formed or provided with the usual radial wings c. It alsohas liquid-passages formed in it either by notching the edge, as shownat fin Fig. 8 4, or by apertures made through the plate near the edgefasshown at f in Fig. 7, or otherwise made to communicate with the race-'ways. V

The separating-walls or partitions E in Figs. 1 and 2 areVerticallydisposed and in cross-section are curved transversely, andthey overlap each other to form the raceways or passages for theseparated constituents. Referring to Fig. 2, it will appear that each 5of the plates or partitions E has one edge secured, and proximate tothis edge the plate is curved inwardly to form a pocket or recess g andthence curves outwardlyin a line substantially eccentric to the axis ofthe ma- I00 chine, whereby its free edge or opposite portion isseparated from the rear portion of a contiguous plate or partition toform a separating passage or raceway h. Thus in crosssection thepartitions or separating-walls are substantially double-walled atintervals, and the space between the walls forms achannel narrow inhorizontal section, and the whole or full milk being led into themachine, as before indicated, will be received into a passage formed bythe inner wall of the bowl and an imperforate wall close to said innerwall and revoluble therewith, and during the revolution of the machinethe cream constituents tend to crowd themselves against this inner wallof the transversely-curved partitions E. As these partitions declinetransversely toward the pockets or recesses g in the partitions, thecream is gradually worked back into the space of least agitation untilit finally occupies the pockets or recesses and so much of the outersurface of the curved wall adja cent thereto as may be required, whilethe skim-milk or other separated constituent is thrown outward by thecentrifugal action to occupy the remaining space of the raceways betweenoverlapping partitions and the space between the outer surface of saidpartitions and the inner wall of the bowl, and in this relation theseparated constituents flow upward, the cream escaping from the racewaysthrough outlets t', formed in the arched top plate 01, and the skim-milkescaping around the edge of this plate and into the outlet tube ortubes, the cream continuing its flow upward and finally escaping throughits own outlet.

While the recess or pocket portion of the partition is nearer the axisof revolution than the remaining portions of the partition, still it issufficiently removed from said axis to offectually operate on the liquidto produce centrifugal separation during the period the liquid isflowing through the separating zone to the outlets. If the raceways orchannels were too close to the axis of revolution, some of the skim-milkconstituents might remain in the cream constituents, and separationwould not be perfectly accomplished. Therefore while I locate therecesses or pockets nearer the point of least agitation I also 10- catethem sufficiently far from this point to effect complete separation, andthe cream is afforded ample time to assemble in the pockets or recessesfor nearly the whole or greater portion of the length of the height ofthe bowl and to be finally discharged entirely separated from the milkconstituents. I also provide the neck of the machine with a creamoutletthat is made adjustablethat is,'I employ a plug 10, in which a hole ismade eccentrically, as'shown in the detail Fig. 10, this plug beingdivided or split through one of its walls, whereby it may be compressedinto position, and expansion will hold the plug with sufficient frictionto maintain it in any of its adjusted positions. The plug has a flangedtop portion, and a tool may engage this flange to partially rotate theplug to bring the thin side of the plug nearer or farther from the axisof revolution of the machine, and thereby regulate the overflow ofcream.

The form of machine illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 is like that shown inFigs. 1 and 2 in its essential parts, except that the partitions E aredeclined upwardly to give a general taper to the separating-wall, andthe tube or milk-passage D may be provided with wings D. In using thelongitudinally-declining partitions of Fig. 5 the raceways increase insize from the bottom to the top or from the zero-point, where separationcommences, to the point where it substantially ends. I also show inFigs. 5 and 7 a fiat top plate d and a ring G, interposed between saidplate and theunder side of the cover 0" with a creamescape between theplate and ring, as shown at 12. The ring'may also be used in Fig. 1, ifdesired, as shown by dotted lines at 12. The position of the milk outletor tube b is slightly modified in Fig. 5, and its horizontal legpierces. the ring, as shown, and the pocket or recesses in theseparating-partitions or curved plates are omitted, as the cream willseek the deepest portions of the raceways, and separation will beeffected substantially as before described.

In passing the cream-escape 12 the cream takes an abrupt fall, and thering will tend to prevent any intermingling of the skimmilk with thecream, said cream-escape 12 being suitably proportioned with respect tothe capacity of the bowl.

In Figs. 8 and 9 I illustrate another modified form of device, where thewhole milk is entered at one end and the separated constituentsdischarged from the opposite ends through the outlets a and b. In thiscase the raceways h may be formed directly in a solid piece, Fig. 9, thewalls of the raceways operating the same as the walls of thetransversely-curved partitions of Figs. 1 and 2. To facilitate thecleansing of the raceways, the outer vertical edges of the partitions Emay be turned outwardly, as shown at E".

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a centrifugal separator, the combination with a bowl, of a wallproximate to the wall of the bowl and made double at intervals to formhorizontally-curved raceways closed at the back and'open at the front.

2. In a centrifugal separator, the combination with a bowl, of atransversely-curved wall opposing the wall of the bowl and madesubstantially double at intervals to form raceways of substantiallynarrow width horizontally and open at the front and closed at the rear.

3. In a centrifugal separator, the combination with a bowl, of anannular vertical wall opposing the same and made double at intervals toform curved spaces said spaces being deeper at the rear than at thefront.

4;. In a centrifugal separator, the combination with the bowl, of a wallopposing the same and made double at intervals said wall includingvertically-disposed transverselycurved plates with the front portion ofone plate overlapping and separated from the rear portion of anotherplate to form a horizontally-curved raceway for separated constituents.

5. In a centrifugal separator, the combination with a bowl, of a wallopposing the wall of the bowl and including vertically-extending platescurved transversely and with the front portion of one plate or partitionover-V 7. The combination with the bowl, of the vertical partitionscurved transversely to form horizontally-curved raceways, a plate aboveand below the partitions, a ring above and separated from the upperplate, said plate having openings connecting with the raceways, andseparate outlets for the separated constituents.

8. In acentrifugal separator having an opening for a separatedconstituent, means for regulating the flow from said outlet con sistingof a split expansible plug axially mounted and provided with aneceentricallyformed opening.

9. In a centrifugal separator the comloina tion of the bowl, thevertical partitions curvedtransversely as described, a plate above andbelow the partitions, and an annulus above the upper plate and separatedat its lower edge therefrom.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

CARL J. PII-ILi Witnesses:

CARL N ORVELL SANBORN, GRACE E. ROCKWELL.

